Data Governance Analyst

Job Title: Data Governance Analyst
Work Type: Hybrid
Location: Richmond, VA 23219
Salary: $44 – $64 per hour
Start Date: November 16, 2026
End Date: November 30, 2027
Industry Category: Government / Healthcare / Data Governance & Information Technology
Employment Type: Contract
Requisition ID: 812902

Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Data Governance Analyst to support the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) in Richmond, Virginia. This CDC-funded contract opportunity focuses on advancing enterprise data governance by integrating people, processes, policies, and technology.

The ideal candidate will bring senior-level expertise in business analysis, enterprise data governance, data lineage, data cataloging, SQL, data warehousing, requirements elicitation, and process improvement.

This position emphasizes governance strategy, stakeholder facilitation, operational process design, and organizational adoption rather than hands-on application development. Candidates must also possess the technical data knowledge required to evaluate governance challenges and collaborate effectively with enterprise technology teams.

This position requires two days per week on-site in Richmond, Virginia. Local Richmond-area candidates are preferred.

Application:

Application Deadline: Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

Qualified candidates should demonstrate at least ten years of relevant experience in data analysis, data lineage and cataloging, data policy development, SQL, data warehousing, and requirements elicitation.

Applicants must confirm their ability to work on-site in Richmond two days per week and attend a follow-up in-person interview if requested by the hiring manager.

Candidates must provide their current city and state of residence and confirm that they will physically reside within the United States throughout the assignment. Personal identifying information must not be uploaded into PIXID.

Job Description:

The Data Governance Analyst will serve as a senior business analysis and facilitation resource supporting DBHDS enterprise data governance initiatives.

The analyst will collaborate with data owners, data stewards, business units, enterprise architecture, engineering, security, analytics teams, and external partners to establish repeatable, sustainable, and measurable governance processes.

This position requires the ability to analyze complex business and data management challenges, interpret policies and standards, elicit requirements, and translate organizational needs into practical workflows, procedures, decision frameworks, and operational controls.

The successful candidate will support data quality improvements, access governance, data sharing, enterprise data integration, and data product requirements while facilitating cross-functional collaboration and driving governance decisions toward implementation.

The role also requires extensive knowledge of SQL, relational databases, data warehouses, data lineage, and data cataloging to support informed analysis and effective communication with technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

Business Analysis & Process Improvement

• Analyze business and enterprise data management processes to identify gaps, risks, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Facilitate requirements gathering, root-cause analysis, and current-state and future-state process design.
• Translate governance policies and business requirements into actionable workflows, procedures, decision frameworks, and operational controls.
• Develop business requirements documentation, process maps, standard operating procedures (SOPs), RACI matrices, and performance measures.
• Support implementation, automation, adoption, and continuous improvement of sustainable business processes.

Enterprise Data Governance & Policy Development

• Collaborate with data owners and data stewards to operationalize enterprise data governance policies, standards, and responsibilities.
• Develop and refine data governance procedures, workflows, and accountability structures.
• Support governance decision processes, including ARID-related initiatives.
• Establish measures of governance effectiveness, stakeholder engagement, compliance, and data quality.
• Promote governance-by-design practices across enterprise data operations and technology delivery.

Data Analysis, Lineage & Cataloging

• Analyze enterprise datasets, data flows, and data management processes to support governance objectives.
• Evaluate data lineage, cataloging practices, and metadata management requirements.
• Identify data quality issues and facilitate root-cause analysis and remediation planning.
• Apply SQL and database knowledge to support data analysis and governance-related investigations.
• Collaborate with data engineering and analytics teams to improve data transparency, consistency, and usability.

Requirements Elicitation & Stakeholder Facilitation

• Lead cross-functional workshops involving business stakeholders, data owners, stewards, enterprise architecture, engineering, security, and analytics teams.
• Gather, analyze, validate, and document complex business and data governance requirements.
• Facilitate discussions involving competing priorities and build consensus around practical solutions.
• Clarify decision rights, responsibilities, dependencies, and required actions.
• Document decisions, communicate outcomes, and coordinate implementation follow-through.

Access Governance, Data Sharing & Compliance

• Support access governance processes by documenting authorization requirements, decision criteria, and operational controls.
• Facilitate data sharing requirements and coordinate with responsible teams to implement approved decisions.
• Support compliance reviews and continuous improvement of governance procedures.
• Collaborate with enterprise partners to embed governance requirements into data acquisition, integration, management, and consumption.
• Help ensure data governance activities align with applicable organizational policies and standards.

Enterprise Data Management & Integration

• Support initiatives involving automated data onboarding, enterprise master patient index (EMPI), and master and reference data management.
• Collaborate with enterprise technology teams on data warehouse and database-related governance requirements.
• Facilitate requirements for data integration, interoperability, and enterprise data products.
• Evaluate data management challenges and recommend sustainable process improvements.
• Support alignment between business requirements, data governance objectives, and technical implementation activities.

Governance Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Define and maintain measures for governance effectiveness, process adoption, compliance, and data quality.
• Prepare clear documentation and communicate findings to business and technical stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to streamline governance workflows and improve organizational accountability.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across enterprise data management operations.
• Track decisions, dependencies, and implementation progress for prioritized governance activities.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in data analysis.
• 10+ years of experience with data lineage and data cataloging.
• 10+ years of experience creating data policies, procedures, and related governance documentation.
• 10+ years of experience using SQL for data analysis and related enterprise data activities.
• 10+ years of experience working with data warehouses and enterprise data warehousing environments.
• 10+ years of experience eliciting, analyzing, and documenting business or data requirements.
• 7+ years of experience working with relational databases and database platforms such as SQL Server, Oracle, Snowflake, or comparable technologies.
• Demonstrated senior-level business analysis, process improvement, and complex problem-solving capabilities.
• Advanced facilitation skills, including leading cross-functional working sessions, navigating competing priorities, building consensus, and driving decisions to resolution.
• Proven ability to analyze, design, document, and implement sustainable business processes.
• Ability to interpret governance policies, organizational standards, and business requirements and translate them into practical processes and controls.
• Working knowledge of enterprise data governance principles, including data ownership, stewardship, access governance, data quality, compliance, and data lifecycle management.
• Strong analytical, written communication, verbal communication, stakeholder management, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with business and technical teams.
• Must be able to work on-site in Richmond, Virginia, two days per week.
• Must be available for a follow-up in-person interview if requested by the hiring manager.
• Must physically reside within the United States throughout the assignment in accordance with Commonwealth of Virginia security policies.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Information Management, or a related field. Equivalent professional experience and relevant certifications may be considered.
• Experience in government, healthcare, or other regulated environments.
• Familiarity with enterprise data integration, interoperability, master and reference data management, and enterprise data products.
• Knowledge of data governance frameworks such as DAMA-DMBOK and DCAM.
• Familiarity with process improvement methodologies such as BPMN, Lean, or Six Sigma.
• Experience with AWS, Snowflake, and Commonwealth of Virginia/VITA standards.
• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) certification or other relevant professional certifications.
• Local residency in the Richmond, Virginia, metropolitan area.

Benefits

Compensation:

• Pay Range: $44 – $64 per hour

Schedule:

• Work Arrangement: Hybrid
• Mandatory On-Site Requirement: 2 days per week
• Remote Work: Remaining scheduled workdays, subject to agency requirements

Work Location:

• Richmond, VA 23219